Escape THE LOOKOUT

Sun-drenched interiors, right on the beach - it's hard to believe this is Scotland

- Miriam Methuen-Jones

It is only my charming personality and refusal to gloat that keeps me out of my colleagues' bad books after a weekend at the Lookout. "It was really nice," I tell them on Monday, while internally screeching with delight. I've found paradise, dear reader, and now (probably) won't need that summer holiday.

The trigger for my new-found bliss? A two-bedroom beach house with delicious interiors by Edinburgh's Hen & Crask that sits right on the water in a private corner of Canty Bay, a coastal hamlet near North Berwick. Steph Lothian of Williamstone Farm Steadings is at the helm; she and her partner Ryan also have a renovated barn on the outskirts of North Berwick which is finished to a similarly luxurious standard. My partner and I arrive on a blistering afternoon to find Steph waiting to greet us. She patiently shows us round while we coo and sigh and make jokes about having the locks changed.

Can you blame us? The central living space is draped in light hues, allowing your eye to go straight to the bright blue sea just beyond the glass. "The colours are all from Atelier Ellis," says Rachel Richmond of Hen & Crask when I chat to her later. "I played with a neutral palette throughout - something to bring the outdoors in, with lots of bare wood and relaxing greens that complement the sea."